The Texas Canyon Battle Where U.S. Cavalry Captured 1,400 Native Horses — Then Destroyed About 1,000 Of Them

The Texas Historical Commission’s marker for Mackenzie was placed at Fort Clark, Texas, where he had served before the 1874 campaign.

Why Four Dead Matters As Much As 1,000 Horses

There is a final interpretive point worth making about the low body count at Palo Duro Canyon that goes beyond the tactical explanation.

The fact that Mackenzie’s force killed four people at Palo Duro Canyon while destroying the material foundations of hundreds of people’s ability to sustain themselves is itself a historical statement about what this kind of warfare was.

It was not primarily about killing people.